Rockford man returns from Africa because of Ebola crisis

ROCKFORD — Daniel Olson’s stay in Sierra Leone was supposed to last 27 months. But the Ebola crisis in West Africa brought him back home after just six weeks.

Olson, 22, was among 130 Peace Corps volunteers recalled after Sierra Leone officials last Wednesday declared a national health emergency because of an Ebola outbreak.

On Friday, Olson flew 22 hours from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Chicago. He arrived Saturday in Rockford; his bags were expected to arrive by Tuesday.

“They basically got us out as soon as they could,” said Olson, a 2010 Auburn High School graduate. “Once the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and World Health Organization decide it’s safe, we’ll head back.”

The WHO said today that 887 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. WHO said there’s about a 40 percent survival rate for this outbreak, but survival chances improve with access to quality health care.

Before leaving Sierra Leone, Olson said his temperature was checked and a health validation form was stamped that said he was free of Ebola symptoms.

Fever is an early symptom of the disease and as a precaution, Olson said he and other Peace Corps volunteers were advised to check their temperatures twice a day. The virus is passed via contact with bodily fluids — such as vomit, blood, sweat, feces or semen — of someone with the disease who is already showing symptoms. Those symptoms include fever, aches, upset stomach, bloody diarrhea and hemorrhaging from the nose, eyes, ears and mouth.

Missionary Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly are two known Americans stricken with Ebola. Brantly was admitted to Atlanta’s Emory University Saturday and Writebol is scheduled to arrive there Tuesday. Brantly and Writebol contracted Ebola after working on the same medical mission team treating victims of the virus around Monrovia, Liberia. Ebola has no vaccine or antidote. However, both Brantly and Writebol were given an experimental treatment last week, according to international relief group Samaritan’s Purse.

The American cases make headlines as dozens of African heads of state converge on Washington for the Monday opening of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a three-day gathering hosted by President Barack Obama. Among the stated purposes: discussing how to help African nations overcome systemic challenges, including disease.

Olson said that among citizens in Sierra Leone there’s been a range of responses to the Ebola outbreak. Some think it’s a government conspiracy. Others believe they’re safe if they attend church or that it won’t affect them. Many people simply don’t know about the disease.

Olson said he has little fear that he is infected or that Ebola will become an epidemic here.

“You really shouldn’t be worrying about your own safety but trying to end this thing as quickly as possible over in Africa, said Olson, who said donating to Doctors Without Borders is one way to help.

Olson graduated in the spring from Northwestern University with degrees in philosophy and German. He was in training to teach middle school English and math but joined the Peace Corps because he wanted a personal challenge and wanted to do something useful and helpful for people in need.

He’s planning to return to the country,

“The program isn’t cancelled, but it will probably be a month or two before we go back,” he said.